April 2018 construction activity in the EU inches up

Ilustracija

Activities in the construction sector across the European Union grew in April both month-on-month and year-on-year, after recording a drop in March, data released by Eurostat on Tuesday showed.

The seasonally adjusted production in the construction sector at the EU28 level grew in April 2018 by 1.2 percent compared to March, when it recorded a 0.8 percent month-on-month drop.

By EU member states, the largest increase in construction in April 2018 compared to the month before was in Slovenia, by 9.8 percent, followed by Hungary (6.5 percent) and Germany (3.3 percent). On the other hand, the largest monthly drops were in Spain, by 3.6 percent, followed by Belgium (1.8 percent) and Slovakia (1.4 percent). Croatia was not included in the statistic as it does not report monthly data in this category.

In year-on-year terms, in April 2018 construction grew by 0.9 percent, accelerating slightly from March 2018, when it grew by 0.7 percent.

The largest year-on-year increases were in Poland (16.3 percent), Hungary (14.2 percent), Slovenia (12.4 percent), and the Netherlands (10.4 percent). The largest decreases were in Sweden (by 6.4 percent), Belgium (4.6 percent), and Spain (3.4 percent).

In the first three months of 2018 construction activities grew by 0.8 percent compared to Q4 2017, and by 1.7 percent compared the same period the year before.

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